‘Plan B’ is enforcing ‘Plan A’ – Gen V (OU RMT): Peaked 12th

Saying that the advent of Gen V has changed the metagame is a huge understatement. It has, and whether it is for the better or worse; you are the judge of that. Nevertheless, I must say that I have grown to like this metagame and thus have a made an OU Team that I thought would ‘beat’ the metagame, and it is one of the best that I have created which I am rather happy about having spent hours and hours on end playtesting, planning and writing this (in my opinion; detailed) RMT. *sigh* <_<

I had a glance at February’s WIFI OU most used Pokémon and here are the top few:

With that in mind, I decided to build a team that would not only counter these major few threats, but also utilize some of them to counter the metagame. Once I got used to the team, it thrived. With the unquestionable help of people on my forum/clan, I was able to reach Rank 12 on the Pokémon Online server, though strangely, for only a few seconds as a couple of people below me won a game to later to send me down to the 20’s.. Nevertheless, I peaked in the Top 5 on 3 separate servers and managed to be the runner-up in the monthly tourney on my forum and gaining a place on the ‘Elite-Four Panel’.

Without further ado, here is the team building process.

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In a few previous teams, Garchomp had been such a useful Pokémon and whilst also being my favourite Pokémon, I decided it must be on this team. However, this is not to say that I based my team around my Garchomp, because frankly I feel that basing a team around one or two Pokémon makes it somewhat unreliable in tight situations where the ‘select’ Pokémon are down. I was at sea on deciding what set to use and initially I started planning with a standard SD Chomp set.
Then, I knew I needed a Pokémon that could clear out some of the threats that Garchomp depises of. I immediately though that Heatran would fit the bill seeing as it could resist Dragon and Ice type moves whilst also murdering steels; the bane of Garchomp’s existence.
Immediately, I realized that I was Gliscor-weak; and how, seeing at that seeing as it was the 5th most used Pokémon on the OU ladder since the introduction of Gen V. I knew that I needed a solid counter to Gliscor which could also take EQ’s aimed at Heatran and I knew Gyarados would fit the role perfectly, especially an offensive DD-Dancer.
Now, Bulky waters would cause me huge problems and I didn’t really want to ruin my Offensive-style of play so I decided to input a SubSplit Gengar; made famous in Gen 4. However, I knew that then, even with Garchomp and Heatran, I was Tyranitar weak, so I also decided to implement a Scizor that could work as a scout with U-turn and a Revenge-killer with Choice Banded Bullet Punch and so it took up 5th spot.
Celebi had always been one of my preferred Pokémon to use due to its well rounded defence and offensive potential, not to mention the ability to spread status which would enable a Garchomp sweep. So, it then it became my final member of my team. Though, it did not stop here.
The team was still somewhat weak to Tyranitar’s which had either DD’d or were introduced / used once Garchomp had gone down. Celebi, too, was unable to touch Natorrei, and since Heatran, this team’s best counter to it was the lead, I needed something that could hit Nattorei hard and take care of Tyranitar and after much deliberation, I decided to test out Virizion in Celebi’s slot and it worked wonders and the team was becoming ‘one'.
Then, I got the chance and was able to challenge some of the guys on the top rungs on the ladder and after having mixed success, some were able to point me in the right direction. They told me to use a ScarfChomp to revenge Dragons, Gyarados and Tyranitar at +1 and for the speedy revenge kill. Then, I was told to alter Gyarados’ set to a Bulky Dancer with Taunt to shut down walls that could set up/ inflict status or exhibit hazards.

CB Scizor was also revamped to become a SD Scizor with the use of an Iron Plate to bluff a Band and to avoid unnecessary LO recoil damage. Then, I heard someone on the ‘Tohjo Falls’ section of P.O mentioning Sub Disable Gengar and I thought, despite the gimmicky label it was given, it seemed to work well, shutting down Pokémon such as Roopushin/Milotic etc that only had one attack that affected me and combined with Gengar’s 3 immunities, it worked in my favour. And thus, the team was made and damn, did their help work wonders.

Current Team:

Current Team:

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Sorry, it’s long-winded, but I will now talk you through the team as it is.

{Overview}
I have never-used Modest Heatran before, but I have now learnt the error of my ways. This thing is able to function almost all the time and it helps that I play with Heatran cautiously. As I later mention, I do like to set-up Stealth Rock early, but that is by no means the only thing up Heatran’s sleeve.

{Set Comments}
As with most Stealth Rockers, they have the ability to switch back in late game and have the potential to sweep and Heatran is certain one of them. The balloon is a must-have item for Heatran in this generation providing a potential late game salvage against some Excadrill’s/ Doryuuzu’s and in general protecting me against Ground-type attacks. The three attacking moves give great coverage ensuring I have an answer to everything ( well, almost ;) ).With HP Ice, I lose the ability to hit water types; however I can hit the ever present Dragon and Ground-types that rule the roost. Moreover, my team generally has no problem with water types in general as you will see later on, so the loss of HP Electric, Energy Ball, Grass Knot etc. Is not a huge loss and HP Ice can clearly be seen as an investment.

{Team-Play}
Since I play Heatran cautiously, it has no trouble in returning into the firing line later in the battle to get rid of those pesky Steels that Garchomp loathes such as Scizor/Bronzong. If my Balloon is still intact, be this early or late game, it gives me a cushion against those ever-present Dragon’s that enables a late flourish.

{Overview}
I was sceptical about this set when it was recommended for me and really, I have never looked back. The beauty about this set is that, just like the Standard Choice Band set; it is fairly bulky and can take at least 2 neutral hits and many more not-very effective hits. I endeavour not to use him till middle-to-late game as that is when he is the most lethal.

{Set Comments}
Iron Plate is a really useful item, and I mean it. Though it doesn’t power up Bug Bite (90BP), it powers up Bullet Punch whilst also feigning a Choice Band. As always both its STAB moves hit hard and despite them not always being super-effective the power that Swords Dance applies is phenomenal. Another integral part of this set is Roost. If Scizor comes in on an easy kill having already taken down a Pokémon earlier in the game and is say, around 50% health; it has the ability to force a switch and thus replenish its health to near max with Roost. On the other hand, it is common to see me Swords Dancing in that situation too; though the situation is key, but the advent of the Pre-Battle-Viewer aids in this respect.

{Team-Play}
Scizor is a valuable part of my team and can easily take on a late-game sweep with/without the +2 Attack boost. Scizor’s play is key to the success of others; whittling down the opponent’s health into my other sweepers’ KO range and is thus an integral part of the system.

{Overview}
Just as with Scizor, I had no idea what to expect when this Gengar set was recommended to me. Correspondingly, I have not thought twice about this Ghoul either. It annoys the living ‘hell’ out of people as I will mention soon and is fast enough to deal with other threats.

{Set Comments}
I love Substitute; especially on a Gengar. It provides a cushion that eases prediction a lot, even though I know the opponent’s team. Furthermore, it acts as a shield to status, something that really plagues Gengar’s of this type. The new mechanics of Disable allows it to have 100% Accuracy and this is a real bonus, especially when you have the somewhat unreliable Focus Blast on the same set. The main idea of this set is self-explanatory. Most of Gengar’s threats generally have only one move that does sufficient damage to it – examples include Skarmory’s Brave Bird, Roopushin/Conkeldurr’s Payback etc. In this way, Disable is such a useful tool to shut down a wall, forcing a switch enabling a free attack or a free, prediction-easing Substitute. Finally, the two final attacks give Gengar coverage and power, hitting everything for at least neutral damage, I believe.

{Team-Play}
Gengar’s proves a vital team-player too. After Heatran, it is another solid counter and revenge killer of Shandera/Chandelure. A Life Orb Variant is easily out sped and OHKO’d by Gengar whilst a Choiced Variant is bread and butter for Heatran. Furthermore, I am able to at least gain a Speed tie with opposing (common non-scarfed) Gengar, Lati@s and other Base 110’s. Furthermore, in standing at Base 110 Speed, it is able to outspeed the Base 108 Trio (Virizion, Terakion and Cobalion) as well as the 3 Genies (Voltolos, Tornelos, and Landlos).

{Overview}
Gyarados usage has fallen slightly this Generation but I have decided to stick with the Psuedo-Dragon monster. Bulky Waters have always been the bane of my recent teams and Gyarados is one of my sure-fire counters to such Pokémon. Gyarados can enter at any point in the match and proceed to set-up on the opponent or choose to render them useless.

{Set Comments}
The set is a common one. TauntDos is fantastic and coupled with Dragon Dance allows him to outspeed a large chunk of the metagame and his physical attacking prowess grants his two STAB moves to do significant damage. His main aim is to prevent Entry Hazards being set-up and some common Hazard laying Pokémon include Natorrei, Skarmory and Forretress; all of whom are shut down by Gyarados. Another nice touch to this set is its ability to annoy the opponent. I consistently find myself flinching the opponent as well as paralysing them with Bounce and also allowing me to hit Grass and Fighting types for SE damage.

{Team-Play}
Intimidate is such a useful ability, especially when being swept in the face by Doryuuzu among other Pokémon. It gives me that opportunity to take another few attacks here and there making my job against strong physical attackers much easier. Moreover, Gyarados can get rid of opposing Fire-types, notably Heatran which in turn gives Scizor and co a much easier type sweeping. Gyarados’ Taunt is fantastic mid-game when it can allow Virizion a comfortable status-free set-up.

{Overview}
To think I even considered using Celebi in this position is embarrassing. Virizion is surely my MVP. The crucial parts of the set are the Ev’s. With these Ev’s, Virizion reaches a speed stat of 334, one point high that non-scarf Garchomp. However, I am of the opinion that I should run 252HP/252Speed/4SpA as I feel that drawing with Cobalion and Terakion at 108 Base Speed outweighs the chances of living multiple physical attacks directed as Virizion – opinions please?Moreover - with the aforementioned EV Spread, I can also outspeed the 3 Genies which may be useful? Nevertheless, this is my typical Tyranitar counter and is one of the Pokémon on my team that is not bothered by Sandstorm nor Rain which is useful when both Tyranitar and Politoed are 2nd and 12th respectively in terms of usage.

{Set Comments}
The crux of this set is Calm Mind. With Calm Mind, Virizion’s already impressive 129 Base Sp.Defence is increased to unimaginable levels. Moreover, with this great move, Virizion has no real need to invest in its Special Attack as the boosts gained are almost always enough to OHKO/ 2HKO when required. Though Giga Drain was weak in previous generations, Gamefreak have increased its Base Power to 75 (112.5BP factoring in STAB). Though this can still be seen as paltry, it is a fantastic move to have on Virizion. Recovering health from Giga Drain is what prevents Virizion from getting OHKO’d/ 2HKO’d etc since the HP gained allows Virizion to replenish health easily – especially when the opponent has a Swampert/Tyranitar etc. – Lol. Focus Blast is a strong STAB move that provides precious coverage to the set enabling me to hit steels that would otherwise resist my attacks such as Nattorei etc. The last slot has been questionable. I have always run Hidden Power Ice on the last slot to hit Dragons that would otherwise not take much, if any damage, from my other two moves. However, on the P.O chat, I have encountered people suggesting me to use Taunt over HP Ice to shut-down status abusers. On this subject I am much undecided as I really do not want to love coverage whilst status is a problem; though only rarely. Another point to make is that the Team Preview Feature allows me scout out what potential threats stand in Virizion’s way and thus dispose of them in the right manner.

{Team-Play}
Though not as intended, this Pokémon is the one that sweeps the most late-game. Heatran and Virizion together work really well mid-game with the former dispatching Steels to kingdom-come. Secondly, other Pokémon can get rid of Flying types though these Pokémon rarely use their STAB moves excluding ones such as Togekiss etc, so in general, with Rocks up (not requisite, but useful) and opponents weakened, Virizion can sweep with ease and if there was one Pokémon this team somewhat revolves around, though I dislike this statement, is Virizion.

{Overview}
What can I say? As far as revenge-killers go; Garchomp is a very good shout in this metagame. Once again, my favourite Pokémon returns into the OU tier (to stay, most likely) and makes a terrific revenge-killer. He is the least-used member on my team – usually since I do not need his service when I am on top. But when I call upon him, he consistently does his job, sitting at 499 Speed, still outspeeding +1 Speed Boost Blaziken. The Ev’s are straightforward and Jolly is used in order to outspeed all Pokémon below base 102 Speed at +1.

{Set Comments}
I’m sure Garchomp does not need much of an analysis as everyone is bound to know how it functions. The attacks, are straightforward too. Outrage and Earthquake form the quintessential STAB combination that hits nearly the whole metagame for neutral. Furthermore, Stone Edge helps me against Dragon Dancing threats at +1 such as Salamence, Gyarados, Dragonite and the like. However, this generation, the numbers of such Pokémon has decreased dramatically and my team benefits greatly from this change. The one thing that I am not sure about on this set is the 4th and final move. Dragon Claw gives me a good alternative to revenging a Pokémon at low health that is immune to Earthquake and does not take much damage from Stone Edge. Fire Fang on the other hand enables me to hit Bronzong and Nattorei harder, but is still a very weak attack. Fire Blast too, has been proposed but I’d rather not use a defence-lowering nature owing to the amount of priority moves flying around.

{Team-Play}
Garchomp’s revenge-killing skill helps the team to dispose of threats immediately and easily. Though it is not used as much as the others, it still remains an integral part of the team and can get me through a sticky situation, allowing me to finish on the right side of the finishing line. Heatran, Virizion and Gengar disposing of the Steels is essential for Garchomp to sweep at the end and since no teams runs any more than 2 of these Pokémon, I’m in for a field day.

So, there is the team!! :)

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Another thing to note is the Team Preview System that I have mentioned a couple of times in the main analysis.
The Team Preview System was something I didn’t like initially and continue to do so. However, I must say that it is incredibly useful when you want to know whether you should be locked into a certain move at such a stage in the game – Garchomp is one example of this. Similarly, if I can see that the opponent is carrying a Heatran, I would usually avoid setting up Scizor to his potential while that Heatran lives (if possible), so in that regard, the new system is useful and helps out a lot regarding to prediction.

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To conclude, I would like to thank you for reading my RMT and I’m grateful for any comments that you would like to make regarding to my team. Please note that this team will also (probably) be used for DS Wifi etc, so just bear that in mind should it influence any decisions etc.

Hello, cool team! In terms of team structure and lay out, it really has more in common with a 4th gen team. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that some of the newer threats of 5th gen will press on you a bit more. First, Doryuuzu is going to be a major problem for you. You have no weather inducer / stopper, so once your opponent gets sandstorm up, it stays. Really only Virizion is keeping you afloat against him. The same applies to Randorusu, but this time you can revenge him with Garchomp and smart Intimidate play from Gyarados. However, more often that not something will have to die to get Garchomp in, and generally I think he'll be a headache for you. Heatran seems like a good stop in theory, but more often than not his balloon will be broken by this point in the match, if not, in the process of taking a rock slide or something while switching in.

I think an excellent solution would be to use Azumarill over your current Gyarados!

Laugh all you will, but this set is really awesome in today's metagame. Aqua Jet is useful to an alarming degree against annoying sandstorm teams, especially the aforementioned sweepers. CB + Huge Power mean that Azumarill is actually very strong, and with the advent of team preview, you are in good shape in terms of power. Waterfall from his attack does massive damage, and Ice Punch + Superpower provide excellent coverage against Lati@s or Nattorei or something. He also has excellent offensive and defensive synergy with Scizor, which gives you an excellent core for holding off sweepers.

Also, as far as small changes go: try Double Chop on Garchomp over Dragon Claw. It has the same power and, if you can stand the accuracy drop, will break through focus sashes. I'd also recommend using Leftovers on Scizor- he really does have good use for them, and nobody is going to believe that you're a CB if you aren't spamming U turn (which is the proper way to go). If they are really so dumb to believe that your CB Scizor is using Bullet Punch all the time, they probably won't notice leftovers recovery.

From a small note here, try leading with Scizor. The reason for this is team preview. While your opponent adjusts to Scizor by leading with Skarmory or something, you can send out Heatran first and you'll match up well against most of his usual counters. If Heatran is first on your team preview, more likely than not sending him out first is a bad idea since your opponent will lead with a Heatran counter of some sort.

Hello, cool team! In terms of team structure and lay out, it really has more in common with a 4th gen team. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that some of the newer threats of 5th gen will press on you a bit more.

First, Doryuuzu is going to be a major problem for you. You have no weather inducer / stopper, so once your opponent gets sandstorm up, it stays. Really only Virizion is keeping you afloat against him. The same applies to Randorusu, but this time you can revenge him with Garchomp and smart Intimidate play from Gyarados. However, more often that not something will have to die to get Garchomp in, and generally I think he'll be a headache for you. Heatran seems like a good stop in theory, but more often than not his balloon will be broken by this point in the match, if not, in the process of taking a rock slide or something while switching in.

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Well, as you can see from the usage of Pokemon in my original post, Tyranitar and other common Sandstorm threats are high up - thus I have had my fair share of battles against them. Though on paper my team looks Sandstorm weak, I can honestly say I rarely lose to them. Prediction is key and with Scizor and Virizion in particular being able to damage them greatly, Team Viewer enables me to choose the correct time to set-up and proceed to take them on. Though in some cases; I'll agree with you saying it's potentially problematic.

I think an excellent solution would be to use Azumarill over your current Gyarados!

Laugh all you will, but this set is really awesome in today's metagame. Aqua Jet is useful to an alarming degree against annoying sandstorm teams, especially the aforementioned sweepers. CB + Huge Power mean that Azumarill is actually very strong, and with the advent of team preview, you are in good shape in terms of power. Waterfall from his attack does massive damage, and Ice Punch + Superpower provide excellent coverage against Lati@s or Nattorei or something. He also has excellent offensive and defensive synergy with Scizor, which gives you an excellent core for holding off sweepers.

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Yes, it looks good on paper at the moment. And I will get around to testing it as soon as possible, so thank you for your idea. Hopefully it will work out well. However on the other hand, in this fashion, I lose my only 'Taunt' using Pokemon on the team, which isn't necessarily a good thing. However, I will, by all means, still give it a go. Fortunately, this only leaves me with 2 Choiced Pokemon which is generally the maximum I have ever had on a team. But yes, thank you for your advice and I hope it succeeds.

Also, as far as small changes go: try Double Chop on Garchomp over Dragon Claw. It has the same power and, if you can stand the accuracy drop, will break through focus sashes. I'd also recommend using Leftovers on Scizor- he really does have good use for them, and nobody is going to believe that you're a CB if you aren't spamming U turn (which is the proper way to go). If they are really so dumb to believe that your CB Scizor is using Bullet Punch all the time, they probably won't notice leftovers recovery.

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Yes, I'll give Double Chop a go - I never really get round to using Dragon Claw either way, so yes, good idea. However, I am sceptical about Leftovers on Scizor as although I understand the 'feigning' Band thing isn't that great, the loss in Bullet Punch's power is visibly seen; so I'll give it a further go and see how it pans out. Thank you.

From a small note here, try leading with Scizor. The reason for this is team preview. While your opponent adjusts to Scizor by leading with Skarmory or something, you can send out Heatran first and you'll match up well against most of his usual counters. If Heatran is first on your team preview, more likely than not sending him out first is a bad idea since your opponent will lead with a Heatran counter of some sort.

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Yeah don't worry!! I do, in fact do 'lead' with Scizor in the team-preview. However, for the understanding of my raters, I left Heatran in the lead position in this RMT so you'll know that it IS the lead. Thank you for pointing that out though.

I just wanted to point out something minor in your Gengar overview, Thundurus (Voltolos) and Tornadus (Tornelos) both have Base 111 Speed allowing them to outspeed Gengar and threaten to OHKO... Other than that, its a pretty solid looking team you got.

I just wanted to point out something minor in your Gengar overview, Thundurus (Voltolos) and Tornadus (Tornelos) both have Base 111 Speed allowing them to outspeed Gengar and threaten to OHKO... Other than that, its a pretty solid looking team you got.

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Waaah! Oops, sorry, that was a clear error on my part. I'm rather busy with some work right now; I'll fix it later. Thank you for pointing that out. Thank you for the compliment :)

For Heatran I feel Toxic can come in plenty useful at times to cripple Waters to help Gyara. Just my two cents.

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Hi min min, thank you for the rate and the compliment :) I completely understand what you're saying to a T. However, there's no real slot on Heatran's moveset that I can do without. I use all of those moves often so I'm not sure what to replace it with. If you have any ideas, could you give me a shout as to which one to replace it with. Thank you for the rate.